The True Meaning of Khatame-Nabbuwat (Finality of Prophethood) The concluding address delivered by Hazrat Khalifatul Massih IV at the final session of the Annual Convention of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam at Islamabad (Tilford), England on April 7, 1985. This is an English translation of the above address. The original address was in Urdu titled Irfane Khatame-Nabbuwat. We present this at our own responsibility. Any shortcomings in this translation are ours. We apologize for them. After saying Tashud and Ta’wwoz, Hazur recited Sura Fateha followed by recitation of the following verses of The Holy Quran “Ma Kana Muhammadun… bukra taon wa aseela.” “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of Allah and The Seal of the Prophets; and Allah has full knowledge of all things. O ye who believe, remember Allah with much remembrance; and glorify Him morning and evening.” (Al-Ahzab CH. 33 V. 41-43). A Baseless and Vile Allegation In the so-called ‘white paper‘ of the government of Pakistan, a most painful, vile and baseless allegation has been made against the Promised Messiah (peace be on him). It states that the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) God forbid repudiated the verse of the Holy Quran containing the words ‘Khatamun-Nabbiyeen’ hence did not believe in the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) as ‘Khatamun-Nabbiyeen’ - The Seal of the Prophets. The followers of the Promised Messiah (peace be on him), Jamaat Ahmadiyya, also carry the same view. This obviously is a false and baseless accusation. Anyone who has read the writings of the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) would also reject this charge as false. The irony is that most people are not familiar with the writings of the Promised Messiah (peace be on him). The government of Pakistan has confiscated the Ahmadiyya literature and has banned the propagation of this message to the people, thus depriving them of the opportunity of finding the truth. Profound and Staunch Faith in Khatame-Nubbuwat (The Finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad – peace and blessings of Allah be on him) Writings of the Promised Messiah (peace be on him), prose and poetry illustrate without doubt, illustrate the profound and staunch faith the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) had in ‘Khatame- Nabbuwat’. The depth and true understanding of ‘Khatame-Nabbuwat’ possessed by the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) was without equal. The Ulema and other opponents cannot achieve an iota of this understanding. The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) says: “The charge leveled against me and my Jamaat that we do not believe the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) to be ‘Khatamun- Nabbiyeen’ is a calumny. The fact is, the force, the certainty, the passion and the solid conviction with which we believe the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) to be ‘Khatamul- Anbiyya’ is so strong and overwhelming and of such excellence that it is a hundred thousand times stronger than the belief of our accusers. They have no inkling of the true meaning and significance of ‘Khatamul-Anbiyya’ and ‘Khatame-Nabbuwat’. They inherited a word or two from their ancestors but remain ignorant of the true meaning of this important concept. We, on our part, believe the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) to be ‘Khatamul-Anbiyya with a God given insight into the meaning of this lofty station. This elixir of heavenly wisdom that I have enjoyed is beyond the imagination of those not allowed to partake of it.”(Malfoozat - Sayings of the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) vol. 1 pg. 328). The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) further says: The sum total and the essence of our belief is enshrined in “La llaha illalaho Muhammadur Rasool lullah : there is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”. The strong faith which we uphold in this life and with which, by God’s Grace, we shall leave this worldly abode, is that our Lord and Master, Muhammad Mustafa (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) is ‘Khatamun-Nabbiyeen’ and ‘Khatamul- Mursaleen’. He is the best of all prophets. With his advent faith was perfected and reached its zenith and is now the only route which directs man to attain closeness to our creator.” (Azala-i- Auham pg. 69) Yet again the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) says “The Holy Prophet surpassed all other prophets in all noble traits i.e. in purity of heart and charitable disposition; in chastity and modesty, in veracity and fairness, in his trust, faith and love of God. He was the best, the most complete, the most exalted and the most radiant of all the prophets. That is why of all the prophets, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) was anointed the most with God’s perfect spirit. He was the most magnanimous, most pure, most bright and his love of God was unsurpassed. That is why he was chosen to be a recipient of the divine revelation that was the most powerful, flawless, noblest and the most comprehensive. The like of which was never vouchsafed to anyone in the past or to anyone in the future. He thus emerged as the mirror that reflected the divine attributes in the best form. (Surma-i-Chasma- i-Arya pg. 23) An extraordinary attempt to deceive and hide the truth I will now review with you, one by one, the allegations made against Jamaat Ahmadiyya and its founder, the Promised Messiah (peace be on him). As one reviews the ‘white paper’ of the Pakistan government, one notes an extraordinary attempt to deceive and hide the truth. It is a document based on false statements, partial truths and wrong conclusions. One passage reads: “In the last fourteen hundred years the general consensus of opinion among the Muslims has been that the phrase “Khatamun-Nabbiyeen” means that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) was the last prophet and that there will come no prophet after him. The companions of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) also held the same view and vehemently put down any such person who claimed to be a prophet. The subsequent history of Islam also bears this out and the Muslim Ummah never forgave a person who claimed to be a prophet.” Another passage reads: “Prominent Muslim thinker and historian Ibn-e-Khaldun and other renowned people like lmam Ibn-e-Tamiyya and his disciple, Ibn-e-Qayyam, Shah Waliullah and Allama Iqbal, have discussed the intellectual, social and political aspect of “Khatame-Nabbuwat”. Allama Iqbal’s views on this subject can be read later on in this document. (“Qadianiyyat - A Grave Threat to Islam” pg. 6-7) To begin with, I would reject that charge that the holy men of the past in the Ummah held the view about “Khatamun-Nabbiyeen” as stated above. This is an outright falsehood and slander against them. ‘Khatamun-Nabbiyeen’ is a vast subject. Covering all aspects of it requires a lot of time. I will therefore confine myself to the refutation of the allegations made in this ‘white paper’. The ‘Muslim thinker’ - his status as religious scholar The first four people mentioned in the passage above were learned men who provided great service to Islamic thinking and philosophy. Jamaat Ahmadiyya accepts them as such. With regards to Allama Iqbal, a passage from his writings is presented. This is self-explanatory. In his letter to Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum, the Allama writes, “The scope of my religious knowledge is very limited. I have spent most of my life studying western philosophy. This way of thinking is second nature to me. Consciously or unconsciously, this way of thinking influences my study of Islam. (Iqbal Nama Part I pg. 46,47. Published by Sheikh Muhammad Ashraf, Kashmiri Bazar, Lahore) A person who acknowledges that his study of Islam is influenced by western philosophy cannot be considered a great Muslim thinker. No sane person would consider him an authority on Islam. Khatamiyyat supersedes all attributes of prophethood I present to you now, excerpts from the writings of the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) and other saintly people from the Ummah to illustrate the profound and extensive meaning of ‘Khatamun-Nabbiyeen.’ You would then realize how these people have tried to limit its meaning to an insignificant and a wrong concept of being the last prophet. They have failed to grasp the deep meaning and concept envisaged by ‘Khatamun-Nabbiyeen.’ The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) writes, ‘Without doubt, no man or angel can match the divine attributes vouchsafed to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him).” (Braheen-e- Ahmadiyya pg. 226) This is the true concept of ‘Khatamiyyat.’ The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) possessed the most exalted status and not even angels could attain such a status. In fact, Mi’raj (spiritual ascension of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him)) is synonymous with ‘Khatamiyyat.’ The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) writes, “The insight and sagacity of our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) far excelled the combined insight and sagacity of the whole Ummah. Rather, if our brethren in faith are not enraged, I would state and would prove that the insight and sagacity of all the other prophets cannot match the insight and sagacity of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him).